Novelist, Joan Didion, in her essay, “On Keeping a Notebook,” explains how her accounts in her notebook have made her realize why it is important to keep one. Didion’s purpose is to persuade readers to keep a notebook and record their memories. She adopts a reflective tone in order to relate to the reader and connect with them fully. To achieve her purpose, the author uses ethos, pathos, and various rhetorical devices. In the beginning of her article, Didion provides strong background information that strengthens her appeal to ethos. The article begins by stating, “The author of novels, short stories, screenplays, and essays, Joan Didion began her career in 1956 as a staff writer at Vogue magazine in New York.” It then goes on to say
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“My first notebook was a Big Five tablet, given to me by my mother with the sensible suggestion that I stop whining and learn to amuse myself by writing down my thoughts.” Many people reading this will relate to this and have a mental connection to the author. Even though the audience will not connect to all of her specific flashbacks, the experiences could still be similar and trigger another thought or reaction within the reader. The author informs the reader of two women that she met in her past who she referred to as Mrs. Minnie S. Brooks, and Mrs. Lou Fox. She then goes on to ask, “Might not Mrs. Minnie S. Brooks help me to remember what I am? Might not Mrs. Lou Fox help me to remember what I am not?” The two women were a symbol of her figuring out who she was. The audience is directed at older teenagers and young adults who, coincidentally, probably haven’t figured out who they are yet. The reader will connect to things that they use to figure out who they are. As Didion read back on her entries, she noticed how she would ask herself things like, “Why did I write it down? Did I want to remember this? How much of this actually happened?” The purpose of these questions is to provoke questions and thoughts in the reader. This will encourage them to continue reading Didion’s passage and become more
“My first notebook was a Big Five tablet, given to me by my mother with the sensible suggestion that I stop whining and learn to amuse myself by writing down my thoughts.” Many people reading this will relate to this and have a mental connection to the author. Even though the audience will not connect to all of her specific flashbacks, the experiences could still be similar and trigger another thought or reaction within the reader. The author informs the reader of two women that she met in her past who she referred to as Mrs. Minnie S. Brooks, and Mrs. Lou Fox. She then goes on to ask, “Might not Mrs. Minnie S. Brooks help me to remember what I am? Might not Mrs. Lou Fox help me to remember what I am not?” The two women were a symbol of her figuring out who she was. The audience is directed at older teenagers and young adults who, coincidentally, probably haven’t figured out who they are yet. The reader will connect to things that they use to figure out who they are. As Didion read back on her entries, she noticed how she would ask herself things like, “Why did I write it down? Did I want to remember this? How much of this actually happened?” The purpose of these questions is to provoke questions and thoughts in the reader. This will encourage them to continue reading Didion’s passage and become more